Dutch FM to meet Jeremić, Tadić

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen will be in Belgrade this Wednesday for meetings with President Boris Tadić and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić.

Ahead of his trip to Serbia, Verhagen said that he would tell Serbia’s president and government that the Netherlands was convinced Serbia had a European future and that his country was ready to support Belgrade on that road, “even financially”.

“I will reiterate that it is of exceptional importance for Serbia to cooperate with the Hague Tribunal and the best example of that cooperation remains the arrest of the last Hague fugitives, including [Ratko] Mladić,” said he.

Speaking about Serbia’s EU candidate status application, Verhagen said that while this decision lies with the authorities in Belgrade, it should be taken “step by step”, and mentioned the ratification of the SAA – which his country is blocking – as one of those steps.

The Dutch minister was due to arrive here in July, but that visit was postponed after Serbian official said it would focus on the unblocking of the EU integration processes and Hague cooperation.